Student Tien, Joao Fonseca among the talents who rose from Challengers to Slam success in 2025 | ATP Tour
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Tien, Fonseca among talents to step up from Challengers to Slam success in 2025
American, Brazilian both started the season outside the Top 100, now they are inside the Top 30
December 16, 2025
Paul Crock/AFP via Getty Images
Student Tien smiles after his impressive five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open.
By ATP staff
One exciting part of every season is finding out which emerging talents are making it to the big stages of the sport. The ATP Challenger events have long been a launching pad for emerging talent before they emerge, and in 2025, several competitors translated their Challenger success into success at the season’s four majors. ATPtour.com highlights five players who have combined that rise.
Student Tien
After an outstanding Challenger campaign in 2024, in which the American posted a record of 35-9 at that level with three titles, Tien quickly transitioned to the highest level of pro tennis. He made a splash at the Australian Open where as the 121st ranked player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Tien reached the fourth round. One of his highlights in Melbourne came in the second round when he stunned three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in a five-set contest.
Tien, then 19 years old, became the youngest player to reach the fourth round in Melbourne since Rafael Nadal in 2005. He also became the second-youngest American man to reach the last 16 in the first major of the season, following Pete Sampras, who reached the same stage at 18.
“This exceeded my expectations for what I was hoping for going into this week,” Tien said in Melbourne. “You go to every game thinking you can win, but being in the second week is surprising.
João Fonseca
Fonseca has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the Top 25 of the PIF ATP Rankings. His first tournament of the 2025 season was the Canberra Challenger, an event he took without dropping a set en route to the title. He became the second player, alongside Jannik Sinner, to win his next event following victory at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
The Brazilian, who also won the Challenger 175 event in Phoenix in March, has reached at least the second round of all four majors this year. His best Slam runs were third-round appearances at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. In Melbourne, Fonseca shocked ninth seed Andrey Rublev in straight sets, marking the teenager’s first major victory. After starting last season at No. 145 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fonseca enters 2026 as World No.
August Holmgren
It was a July to remember for the Dane, whose Grand Slam success surprisingly came before his ATP Challenger success this season. In the first half of the year, Holmgren posted a 3-10 Challenger match record, but turned his season on its head with a Cinderella-esque third-round run at Wimbledon.
Holmgren, ranked No. 192 in the PIF ATP Rankings, saved three match points in the third qualifying round against Yosuke Watanuki and also saved three match points en route to 21st seed Tomas Machac in the second round of the main draw. Two weeks after Wimbledon, Holmgren lifted the trophy on the tough Granby Challenger court.
“The key was to keep my Wimbledon momentum going,” Holmgren said. “I had a strong idea of who I wanted to be as a tennis player and the challenge was to continue that somewhere else.”
August Holmgren celebrates his upset victory over Tomas Machac at Wimbledon. Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Coleman Wong
The 21-year-old made history at the US Open, where he became the first player from Hong Kong to win a major draw. Then the World No. 173 and a qualifier in New York, Wong lived the dream by reaching the third round. Wong, still seeking his first Challenger crown, forced 15th seed Andrey Rublev to a decision before bowing out in his first main-draw appearance, one he will remember forever.
“It’s a big moment for me, my family and the people of Hong Kong,” Wong said in a feature published on usopen.org and ATPtour.com.
Jacob Fearnley
The Briton made the third round at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros – no surprise to those following Fearnley’s 2024 ATP Challenger results. Last season, Fearnley held a 27-3 season record on the Challenger circuit, including four titles. He became just the third player to finish a season with a winning percentage of 90 percent or higher (25 minutes of games played).
Fearnley knocked out big names en route to round three in Melbourne and Paris. In Australia, Fearnley defeated home favorite Nick Kyrgios in the opening round – the same round in which the Briton defeated 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka in Paris. After that, Fearnley ruined Ugo Humbert’s French hopes in the second round of the clay court.
